1. Technical Field
This patent application is directed to automobile radar systems and, more particularly, to a system and method for providing error detection, calibration and built-in self-test (BIST) for an automobile radar system.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Conventional automobile radar systems typically include an array of antenna elements, each connected to radar signal generation (transmission) and/or reception circuitry. Each transmission antenna element radiates when supplied with radar frequency (RF) power, and each receive antenna element responds to incident radiation of appropriate frequency by producing a received signal. In conventional homodyne radar systems, received signals are down-converted to a baseband signal by mixing with a local oscillator (LO) signal that is the same as the transmitted signal.
Radar systems can be subject to errors, which can result in errant detection and/or identification of targets in the surroundings of the host automobile. To improve the performance of automobile radar systems and, therefore, provide enhanced safety to the operator and passengers of the automobile, it is desirable to be able to test the radar system to identify possible sources of error. It is also desirable to implement appropriate corrective action based on detected errors. The corrective action can include calibrating the radar system to compensate for the errors.